Leal touts local projects
MPP tells Rotarians he’s seeking re-election because he wants to accomplish more
Much work has been done, but there is still plenty to do, Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal told city Rotarians on Monday as he explained why he decided to throw his hat back in the ring for this June’s provincial election after 33 years in the public eye.
The Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister and Minister Responsible for Small Business pointed out that many things have changed since he became the riding ’s MPP in 2003, but the fact that “people matter” has remained constant.
“Although we’ve made progress, the job has not been finished,” he said during his 15th annual address to the service club during its weekly lunch meeting at the Holiday Inn, after pointing out that he is “humbled and honoured” to run again.
Regardless of the titles that he now has, the father of two university-age children pointed out that there is nothing he identifies more with than the fact that he grew up in the city’s south end as the son of a General Electric machinist and a hospital nurse.
In his speech, Leal highlighted how past provincial spending is paying off today, citing Peterborough Regional Health Centre, the Peterborough Family Health Team, Hospice Peterborough, Fleming College and Trent University as examples.
He spoke of how a man who settled with his wife in Keene after looking at a $1.4 million house in Toronto approached him to thank him, and the Liberal government, for shaving four hours off of his daily commute, via the extension of Highway 407.
Leal also described a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., where it took an hour to get in for all the visitors from across North America.
The planned future canal-side home of Peterborough’s Canadian Canoe Museum, which has also received a provincial funding commitment, could be a similar draw, he said. “The new Canadian Canoe Museum has that opportunity and potential, that we all want to share in.”
Similar spending must continue in the future, Leal said as he turned his attention to his upcoming campaign platform.
Transportation infrastructure in the county, such as the James A. Gifford Causeway on Chemong Lake, continues to suffer in the wake of being downloaded by the province in the late 1990s, he said.
The province must also continue to build on its spending on long-term care and other areas, Leal added, highlighting the possibility of the return of passenger rail to the city as something that could also benefit from funding.
When concerns about the impact of the recent increase to the minimum wage on manufacturing was raised, Leal said there will “no doubt” be a period of transition and that he will continue to relay feedback to Finance Minister Charles Sousa.
“I continue to engage on this very important issue,” he said.
In addressing continuing talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, the MPP pointed out that the only certainty is uncertainty, when it comes to the current resident of the White House.
NOTE: For more about the Rotary Club of Peterborough, visit www. peterboroughrotary.ca .